Taking Care of Genius, No Matter What

I’d like to share a story that involves you, and me. First, ask yourself this:

Is there a desire, dream or idea I boxed away but never threw out of my heart? Does it keep asking for attention?

Okay. Now read this post as though it’s about you and your dreams…

We met when she was a gentle 8 years into this life. Her biggest dream was to write books, and she would often share her colourful stories with me. Her upbringing was financially modest, yet rich with books, music, drawing, crafting, and painting. She learned to play the guitar, showing up every day to refine her skills, and seeing tangible results from her dedication with every tune she mastered. She gave her Genius full attention in all the ways she felt inspired to.

She started helping her family with the money she made from pet sitting, gardening and making greeting cards for her community. On them she drew what, in her mind, would be the world’s favourite cartoon alongside her idols Garfield and Snoopy. Although she wondered how to make that happen because it seemed to involve a lot more money than she was making then.

Her entrepreneurial spirit bloomed at the same time as she developed a misaligned belief that creating sustainable wealth from her ideas was difficult. I encouraged her not to worry about the details and focus on things that felt good, like writing and drawing, but the inner critics were already taking over. She began to argue with me when we spoke about her dreams.

Knowing that unconditional love means letting someone do what they feel is best even if you don’t agree with it, I gently let her go whilst firmly holding the vision that she would find what she was looking for.

She built a successful career designing and optimising websites. But she was putting off her dreams for “Some day” and getting paid for her creativity based on what other people wanted, not the unique expression of her Genius.

Curiosity led her to explore new countries and cultures. She uprooted her life and moved across the world. She didn’t understand the true power of this choice, she just knew she had to take that leap of faith.

Her life until then had been focused on DOing, even though she was curious about spirituality and her purpose for BEing. As she progressed, her career no longer felt as awesome as when she started, but what to do if not that?

She looked to her cherished cartoon, her pages of writing, and a completed book manuscript. These gems were sitting in boxes – ignored but not forgotten – because she always remembered her teacher’s words, “Never throw away your art.” So they travelled the world with her.

Finding herself in that unknown space between what you no longer want to do and what you really want, she understood that it came down to allowing strength, courage and wisdom to guide her. Nobody else could tell her stories or do what she did as uniquely as her, and it was high time for those gems to be shared since all that friction had polished them quite nicely.

She re-committed to her dreams to do something greater for the world than she’d ever done. It was the leap of faith she needed to let those misaligned beliefs fall away like an acorn sprout pushing the shell out of its way. After all, they were only thoughts, and those can always be replaced with new ones.

She called on me, and I greeted her with an open heart. She was ready to let her Genius shine.

Then it happened. That powerful time when everything seems to fall apart around you in business and relationships (keyword “seems”). After publishing her first book, some friends disappeared practically overnight. Everything felt radically out of sorts, yet it had to be since she was no longer the person she was when she started this journey. You can’t put an oak tree back into an acorn.

We remembered her diligence learning the guitar as a teenager, and how it helped her stay centered. She decided to approach her creativity, work and spirituality with heightened purpose and renewed dedication. Nobody could take care of her Genius the way she now knew how, and she had to share these insights for others to ignite their Genius, no matter what.

She was back, for good.

In return, the world embraced her with enthusiasm and graced her with an abundance of connection, joy and prosperity.

The person I’m telling you about is, of course… me.

My journey around the world led me to the Genius within. You have it, we all have it. It’s something greater than this body and any material thing, and you can call the source it comes from whatever you like. As long as you remember that you are THAT, and you get to create a wonderful life filled with excellence and joy.

Everything we do starts from how we take care of ourselves.

I was distracted from my dreams and Genius early on by a mis-perception of financial abilities, so I created a life based on external optimisation; taking care of the things outside of me, thinking they would make me feel good. Even the work I did was about optimising “things” like websites. It worked for a while, until that perfect storm cleared distractions away and I was left with… me.

It helped me tend to my inner optimisation; taking care of what is really important to me no matter what is happening around me. And the most important thing is feeling good.

The truth is, I knew this all along – and so do you – because all the answers are inside our hearts. The key is to listen to the messages powerfully embedded in each heart beat. Create. Live. Express. Share. Give. Love. Receive. Inspire. Ignite. Nourish. Shine.

BE Genius, no matter what that looks like

Genius comes through all of us in different ways, and it’s not always about the “creative” arts – you can be Genius at accounting, organising, legal representation, parenting, entrepreneurship, architecture, programming, teaching, artfully wrapping a gift or making a bed, and so much else.

When we meet the outside world from within, we extend our generosity of spirit, which drives our enthusiasm to show up, nourish our mind and body, approach what we do with inspired action, give and receive unconditional love, and let our Genius shine.

Life is not about striving for perfection, since we’re perfectly evolving. Just like that oak, we naturally shed some leaves for new ones to grow as we become stronger, greater, wiser. Pure Genius living an optimised life.

Whatever you’re DOing, give yourself full credit for who you’re BEing. And the next time you look in the mirror, remember to comfortably and confidently say:“Hello, Genius.”

Karin Pinter is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, coach, author and the creator of niki owl. Her first book, “niki owl, leap of faith” is part of a transformational series on conscious creation, and her body of work is focused on achieving human excellence and living the fullest expression of our Genius. Karin blogs regularly about mindset optimisation and positive thinking, and can be found on twitter, Facebook and KarinPinter.com.